Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his India debut as the teenage sensation was not picked for the first T20I of the two-match series against Ireland on Friday, June 26. The 15-year-old would have shattered the long-standing Sachin Tendulkar record for the youngest Indian to make his debut; however, he has to wait for a bit.
India’s new captain, Shreyas Iyer, won the toss and opted to bowl first. Iyer has become the 15th player to lead India, and he won the toss on his maiden captaincy outing. Shreyas confirmed that Sooryavanshi is not making his debut today, but revealed that he will “get his opportunity when the time comes.” India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak had highlighted the same in the pre-match press conference.ย
“Going to field first. It’s a new surface for us, first time in Belfast. Considering the conditions, the environment and the wicket, want to field first. He’s just asked all the players to be themselves and be relentless in the approach. Ruthless. So many other adverbs I can put in here. Need to get accustomed to the conditions as quickly as possible. We’re going to take one match at a time. Always keep saying that you don’t have to complicate things. Unfortunately, no (Vaibhav playing?). He’ll get his opportunity when the time comes. For now we’re going with three genuine seamers, 1 allrounder,” Shreyas said at the toss in Belfast.
Meanwhile, newly appointed Ireland T20I captain Lorcan Tucker stated that he also wanted to bowl and revealed that India-bornย Jai Moondra is making his debut. “Would’ve bowled. Looks a really good pitch. [On taking over the captaincy from Paul Stirling] I think it was a natural transition. I think Stirlo had led beautifully for the past couple of years. Very happy to have been in behind him for those couple of years,” Tucker said at the toss.
“[On opportunities for younger players with several senior players unavailable through injury] I think it gives our lads great opportunity. We have Jai Moondra and Matt Hollard making their debut today, so hopefully they can make a big impact. [On the two debutants] Jaiโs a new ball bowler. I think he swings it up top. He has had good success in domestic cricket. Mattyโs a bit of a basher and a wicket-taker, really,” he added.
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